Human beings are amazing creatures. Our ability and ingenuity to build something out of nothing and construct cities and monuments of great stature are unparalleled. This and the natural beauty and cultures of the places that I visit are the primary reasons why I continue to love to travel to places around the world. Each city is unlike the next and all have their own unique characteristics.
As we continue to grow and evolve, so do our achievements. Below are just some examples of how some of the places I have visited have changed throughout time.
Boston – “The Big Dig”
This was a huge engineering accomplishment converting Boston’s main arterial roadway (I-93) from an elevated expressway to an underground series of tunnels and converting the above ground space to greenspace to aid in beautifying the city.
Before [Source]
After [Source]
Dubai
In the 1980s, The government of Dubai decided to make their country an attractive tourist destination. Taking the various resources, they poured everything into achieving that goal. This resulted in amazing growth in very little time starting with the completion of roughly 48 hotels by 1988 and moving to 599 hotels and hotel apartments by 2012 according to the Dubai corporation for tourism. The Emirates expect to double this by the year 2020.
Before and After [Source]
Future Concepts [Source]
New York City
The city of New York and it's transformation into a skyscraper city has always been a place that I have enjoyed visiting. The city itself is an engineering marvel with a fast paced culture and a mixture of different building styles that all come together to provide a unique experience. The skyline of the city is one of the more notable views around the world and has changed much throughout time.
The New York City Skyline throughout time [Source]
Lake Oroville - California
Of course not all growth is good. As we continue to grow and thrive, we also end up using more resources . This is even more apparent when you look at examples such as California which is going through one of the worst droughts in its history. As a result, the state is being forced to draw from natural reservoir lakes to support it's population at an unsustainable rate. Demand is greater then the supply as seen below.
Before and After [Source]
Our species is capable of some amazing things. Above are just some examples of some of the amazing things we have accomplished. Although not all changes are good, we have become better and continue to push past the boundaries of of our previous accomplishments.
Thanks for reading - please share your comments below